Fri Aug 29, 2003
I’m perpetually tired these days so it’s become the status quo. Sometimes I’ll wake up after a long sleep and feel strangely alive, realizing with a surprised recollection that this is what it feels like to be fully awake. It’s odd how one learns to adapt to altered physiological states. I have this long running argument with a friend who says that humans don’t need to sleep at all, we’ve only been socialized to. I’m sure this is bollocks but perhaps there is a grain of truth in that idea somewhere.
Yesterday we took the kids out to see a play. It was the Korean version of “Cats”, rewritten for children of course. I thought it was lame and so did hundreds of other kids in the audience who started rudely and impatiently stamping their feet halfway through the production. There was a mixed response from our lot, some thought it wasn’t very funny at all, others were amused by the feline antics. It was a fine, sunny day, so we had our picnic in Ilsan lake park under a large shady tree. Everyone was exhausted after the field trip, but there were still classes to teach and setting up to do for Market Day, so it ended up being a sixteen hour day, we only went home at eleven.
Market Day today. This is basically the one chance kids get to spend their ‘money’, they get one dollar if they finish a whole sticker board. They get one sticker as a reward every time they win a game or are good or whatever. It’s a lot of work, but they really enjoyed it. They could buy toys and stationary and chocolates and stuff.
It was also Sean’s last day and I had a hard time saying goodbye to the little guy. You get really attached to these kids when you see them everyday. I never thought I’d be one of those weepy kindergarten teacher types.
My adult students canceled their class today - they’re going backpacking in Europe this month, so no adult class for a whole month! This last month has been insane, I’m soooo glad it’s over. The director was trying to placate any possible teacher rebellions today by feeding us lots of food. We had this seafood soup thing and I bit down on what looked like a tasty nut only to have it explode in my mouth! I was so surprised I spat it right out onto the floor, much to the amusement of the other teachers. When I asked Debbie what it was, she said it was ‘seafood’. When I asked what kind of seafood it was, she said “I don’t know, it’s a kind of seafood”…I think it was some kind of small animal. At the end of this long day, Debbie actually said “Thanks for the effort”, which is a lot for her, go Debbie!